Former Kerbango Senior Design Engineer and current Webmaster of Woz.org Al Luckow weighs in on the iPod…
Former Kerbango Senior Design Engineer and current Webmaster of Woz.org Al Luckow weighs in on the iPod:
Jason,
It looks like a great device. I’ve yet to try one but I do have a Nomad and I have along list of complaints with that. Although nothing beats it until possibly Apple’s iPod. Without having tried the iPod I can assume that it works with a Mac? Enough said. I’m sick of buying all these neat devices, only to find out that I have to go though some complicated hack to get it to work on my Mac. Since companies aren’t really going to go out of their way to make something work well on Apple’s platform, I guess Apple had to take the reigns and do it themselves. I’m glad to see they have expanded into this area.
The firewire connection was a brilliant idea. The Nomad’s USB connection is comparable to a slug on valium. I can’t wait to start transferring my MP3 collection to the iPod. I am a little disappointed in the 5GB drive size though. My Nomad has a 6GB and it’s available in larger sizes as well. As big as it seems, you’d be surprised at how fast you can fill that up. And this type of device doesn’t really lend itself to copying on and off over and over again. Usually, people have a tendency to just try to get their whole collection on there and leave it at that. You don’t copy your collection off, then copy it back on again, and so on. You just get one big blob of music and make multiple play lists.
The interface looks very familiar as it reminds me of the interface I did for the Kerbango radio. However, these types of things often deal with the same kinds of content so a streamlined intuitive interface will always have similarities. The bottom line is that you can understand it just by looking at it and it looks like Apple did their usual excellent job with the UI.
The rechargeable lithium battery is a nice touch but I prefer rechargeable high capacity AA batteries. That way when I’m on, say a motorcycle trip, I can easily bring a second set when the first one runs out. I don’t know how easily I can obtain and charge a custom lithium polymer battery. Hopefully they used a standard type.
The size of the iPod is fantastic: 6.5 ounces! That seriously blows the Nomad away. The nomad is as clunky as a portable CD player and a tad bit heavier.
Overall, my first impression is hurray for Apple. My second impression is $399! Yikes! I think I’ll wait.
